Kopi Luwak Coffee

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Lately there has been a real buzz about what many coffee connoisseurs consider as the tastiest coffee on the planet: Kopi Luwak Coffee.

Kopi Luwak Coffee

(Photo Attributed to Author: Wibowo Djatmiko)

So what is all the hype surrounding Kopi luwak Coffee about?

Asian Palm Civet (Photo Attributed to Author: Praveenp)

Asian Palm Civet (Photo Attributed to Author: Praveenp)

Sometimes called “Civet Coffee”, Kopi Luwak Coffee is the brewed coffee beans that have been eaten, partly digested, and then defecated by the Asian Palm Civet.

Producers of the Kopi Luwak coffee beans claim that the process used to procure it are enhanced because of two considerations:

  1. Selection. The Asian Palm Civets choose to eat certain cherries (coffee beans). Only the best beans are eaten.
  2. The digestive process is considered to improve the flavor of the coffee beans that have been eaten. Once the civet ingests the cherries for the fleshy pulp they crave, in their digestive tracts, fermentation takes place. This means that the civet’s protease enzymes have seeped into the beans. The result is a bean that has shorter peptides and more free amino acids. After passing through the civet’s intestines, the cherries are then defecated, along with other fecal matter, and collected.

Because of the now global awareness and demand for Kopi Luwak coffee, the traditional method of collecting feces from wild civets has recently evolved into intensive farming methods. Civets kept in battery cage systems are force-fed the cherries. This practice of mass production has raised ethical concerns within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) about the treatment of civets, because of what they call the “horrific conditions” in which the civets are kept. They are caged in isolation in small cages, fed poor diets, and as a result have a high mortality rate.

Kopi Luwak is not a type or variety of coffee bean. It is an unusual form of processing. And it is now one of, if not the, most expensive coffees in the world. Retail prices can reach as high as $700 per kilogram. Only the Black Ivory coffee sometimes reaches pricier levels, reportedly as much as #1,100 per kilogram.

Unfairly, the price paid to collectors of Kopi Luwak coffee beans in the Philippines is typically around just $20 per kilogram. Farmed Kopi Luwak, which is considered inferior by coffee connoisseurs, is sold in large Indonesian supermarkets for around $100 per kilogram – which is still five times the price high quality, locally produced Arabic coffee. Genuine Kopi Luwak coffee beans, collected from wild civets, are difficult to purchase in Indonesia. And verifying them as the real thing, not fake, is problematic. There are very lax enforcement of insurance policies regarding the use of the name “kopi luwak”. There is even a locally produced, much cheaper, coffee brand named “Luwak”, that costs just a fraction of the real thing: about $3 per kilogram. Even so, it is sometimes sold online under the false guise of being real, genuine Kopi Luwak coffee.

So there are many concerns around the manner in which this remarkable coffee is procured and marketed. Nevertheless, these coffee beans, partly digested and defecated, have coffee drinkers with a flair for the finer things in life clamoring for more. Apparently, Kopi Luwak coffee has a taste and bouquet that is unparalleled, so exquisite that the fact that it is produced by means of an animal pooping it is considered irrelevant.

Taste is King, and Kopi Luwak coffee is the King of taste, when it comes to java, connoisseurs claim.


Kopi Luwak Coffee CupReady to try some? You can purchase the Kopi Luwak Coffee beans through our online store, just click here.

And here is the recipe for brewing …

The Perfect Cup of Kopi Luwak Coffee

There are specific principles to follow for brewing perfect Kopi Luwak coffee, and they are as follows:

Principle #1-

Buy only the best, highest quality, genuine beans. The better the quality of the beans, the better the coffee. If you buy kopi luwak coffee beans, be sure to only buy them from certified sources. The beans should be as fresh as possible. And you want whole beans, not already ground beans. Whole beans are more flavorful and will add a more fresh, vibrant and complex taste and bouquet to your coffee.

Also, and this is one myth buster that applies to all coffee beans, never store your beans in a freezer. This will gradually kill all of their flavor as you time after time remove them from a frozen state into a warm temperature. Keep your kopi luwak coffee beans away from excessive heat, light, air, and moisture. The best practice is to store your beans in an air-tight container, kept in a cool, dark area.

Principle #2-

Brew with only the best, fresh, pure water you can get. Remember, coffee is 99% water. If the water you use has impurities in it, and/or has a odor or odd taste (like many tap waters do) this will adversely affect your coffee. Bottled pure spring water or distilled water is the best to use.

Principle #3-

Be sure to use a top quality coffee grinder. Properly ground coffee beans is imperative for brewing a cup of kopi luwak coffee to perfection. The grinder should have settings that will process the beans specific to the type of brewing you are doing. There are 5 of the most popular types of brewing machines. They are listed below, along with the type of grinding needed for best results for each.

Drip Coffee Makers

  • Medium grind – similar to the texture of coarse sand

Turkish Coffee (Cezve)Maker

  • Extremely Fine, powdery, like the texture of flour

French Press/ Coffee Press

  • Quite coarse – it should be chunky, with distinct particles

Moka Espresso Pot

  • Fine ground – When rubbed between your fingers, it should feel like salt or sugar

Espresso Machines

  • Super Fine ground – it should feel like powdered sugar or flour in your fingers, but with maybe just a tiny bit of grit

Important! Only grind as many beans as you will need for the coffee you are brewing right now. Once beans have been ground, they immediately start losing their flavor. Keep that precious flavor locked up in the whole beans as long as possible, and grind them fresh for each brewing session.

Principle #4-

Be sure you are using the correct water temperature. This is especially important when using a drip coffee maker or preparing a Turkish coffee. Water temperature, if not just right, will ruin the flavor of your coffee. You want the temperature of your brewing water to be between 203 and 208 degrees Fahrenheit (95 to 98 Celsius). If the water is hotter than this, your coffee will be too acidic. If below this range, the resulting cup of coffee will not have the full caffeine amount and less than the full flavor extracted from the ground beans.

Principle #5-

Never reheat coffee after it has been brewed. Reheating will detract drastically from the full flavor. If you have brewed more than you want to drink fresh out of your coffee maker and want to save some for later, put the rest of the coffee in a thermos bottle to keep it nice and hot.

Principle #6-

Drink Kopi Luwak coffee black. Some people like milk or cream and/or sugar in their coffee. But for Kopi Luwak, this is an absolute no-no. It will destroy the flavor. If you like to add these kinds of “additional” flavors to your regular coffee, fine – go ahead. But for the full experience of Kopi Luwak coffee, you simply cannot add anything to it. Drink it full bodied and black.


That wraps up today’s post. I hope you will find the information and resources useful, and please do leave a comment. Have you tried Kopi Luwak coffee? If so, what is your experience with it, and if not, hey – you have what you need to know now, so … why not try some, and come back and let us know how you liked it, okay?

Chow Y’all, happy gourmet coffee brewing and drinking!

My Best Always, Your Friend,

Marvin D Wilson (AKA “The Old Silly”)

A Wealthy Affiliate Member


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18 thoughts on “Kopi Luwak Coffee

  1. Fascinating article. I admit the way it is produced is a bit off-putting, but I still wanna try some, lol.

  2. A most interesting article, thank you. I’d heard about Kopi Luwak coffee, supposed to be the toast of coffee connoiseurs recently. A bit startling to read how the beans are “prepared” though, lol.

  3. I actually have tried Kopi Luwak, and it is a remarkably distinct and tasty cup of coffee, to be sure. Interesting info here, I didn’t know the intensified flavor was the result of partial digestion by Asian civets … if I had known that, I might not have tried it, lol.

  4. I actually have tried kopi coffee and I can tell you first hand, it is out of this world awesome. I have never ever tasted a cup of coffee so rich in flavor!

  5. Well I have to admit, a coffee bean that has been eaten, digested, and the s**t out is not my first idea of something to try, lol.

    But your article with all the info and explanation makes it sound compelling. I might just give it a try.

  6. Ok okay SOLD! LOL, I have a good grinder, and a good drip coffee maker, and I am going to try some Kopi luwak coffee beans, for sure.

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